Fragments of Zero
by AileShogun
Summary: Shigeru F. Kudo has been tested his entire life before the disaster of the 171th Long Distance Fleet, and despite those traumatic memories has become a well-respected ace pilot within the ranks of the Earth Branch of the NUNS Government. It has been over six years since he left Frontier leaving friends and family behind. Now the secrets involving his existence slowly unravel.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Macross Frontier, or any of the characters.** **Some characters are from VF-X2, and others from Macross Ultimate/Trial Frontier with OCs mixed within. This fic will follow a mix of the Movie and Series, with a new perspective thrown into the mix. Enjoy the first chapter.**

File # 1 Wolf meets Fairy

Shigeru F. Kudo, a young twenty four year old pilot with a disheveled mess of reddish brown air, and a set of complete heterochromatic red and blue eyes runs quickly across an expansive hanger bay. He tugged at the collar of his pilot sit, and stared briefly at the view window up head. There was a red alert sounding, and that only meant that he would be deployed on another sortie. There appeared to be something amiss in the air, causing the ace pilot to furrow his brow about this upcoming battle. Shigeru pulled his helmet over his head, and slowly approached the waiting Valkyrie.

"Kudo, I have her all fueled up and ready. We loaded up the craft with the Super equipment."

The crew chief gave him a thumbs up as Shigeru climbed up into the cockpit of a YF-25 Prophecy. Shigeru turned on the machine and quickly several gears start to come to life in the cockpit with the Extended Gear system latching onto the back plate, and various other parts of the pilot suit. A heads up display flashes across the monitor with a small laser flashing across Shigeru's eyes. The Valkyrie's thrust vectoring vents rotated while the flaps start to adjust to the pilot input. A small amount of Shigeru's breath fogged up the visor with his eyes focusing on the data flashing in the top left of the visor. "This is Kudo, did we get any intelligence from the Ghost drones?"

On the bridge of the Illustria the operator, Claire Stanford glanced up at the image of Shigeru and nodded. "It's the Vajra, they are on an intercept course to a civilian transit line, we can't let civilians get killed out here. The commander will now brief you..." She shut off the display, and turned to the commander standing behind her chair. "You're connected to Wolf Leader Ma'am."

The commander walked over to view window, and looked at the trio of Prophecy moving to the launch catapults. She activated the ear piece and firmly spoke into the receiver.

"This is Colonel Newtlet, you may have a lot of questions, but believe me you'll know in time. It's the same drill different place Kudo. I want all the Vajra wiped out. We can't allow any of them to escape."

Shigeru's voice filled the bridge. "Yes Ma'am…this is Wolf Leader ready for launch."

Shigeru could feel the rumble of the engine through the controls. The holographic lights illuminate the runway deck while a count time timer counts down to zero. The Prophecy's engines burned blue, as it quickly started to accelerate forward. The controls rumbled from the assisted acceleration from the catapult and quickly Shigeru's Prophecy took off with engines flaring off into the distance followed only by the two wingmen.

Wolf two, "These interventions are becoming a daily occurrence... luckily there has been no civilian's in this area for months."

Wolf three, "You're in the wrong profession Lieutenant if you don't want to fight..."

Shigeru gently tapped his finger against the throttle, and sighed. "You guys need to keep your focus, there they are…" His eyes quickly track the four red trails from the Vajra off into the distance. They were closing in, and quickly Shigeru's thumb flipped off the safety over the trigger. "This is Wolf One, we have four large types on approach! Engaging in Five Seconds!" He looked over his shoulders at his wingmen. "When they fire break off and engage!"

The bright flash from the lead Vajra fired a burst of its' bullet like spines at the Valkyrie formation. The group with synchronized timing split apart blasting off in different directions. The traces from the Vajra light up the darkness while the Prophecies do nothing but evade the fire from their aggressors quite easily. Their expert training was visible in their dog fighting techniques, the Vajra were firing blind at the highly maneuverable YF-25s.

Shigeru head jerked around from the shock of the high speed maneuvers while increasing the throttle with each passing second. Even with the inertia store convertor, not all of the thrust was dampened causing Shigeru to adjust his posture to compensate for the G-Forces. Wolf-One moved in a jagged pattern waiting for its moment to go on the offensive. Shigeru's eyes were rapidly moving while calculating every possible direction of the Vajra's movement. The laser designation system barely keeps up with the input while missile after missile was shot down by the overworked anti-air turret.

Wolf-one twisted and pulled around the Vajra causing it to adjust to every maneuver with its larger body. The cannon mounted on the backside charges energy and fires a heated shell at Wolf-One. The shots pulls past over the top of the fighter causing a smile to flash on Shigeru's face. He quickly twists the sticks sending the Prophecy into a Gerwalk transformation. The Vajra passes by it and slowly tries to slow itself down. Wolf one aims its gun pod at the at Vajra, and fires a burst of automatic fire. The explosive rounds pierced deep into the Vajra's abdomen spilling out its insides to the vacuum of space. The creature's eyes let out a dim flash before exploding into bio-mechanical mess.

"Help! Help Captain!" Wolf Three twists and turns only for the Vajra to close in on the female pilot's Prophecy.

"Damn it, you're so careless Hoshimura!" Shigeru yells, and quickly brings the craft into a fighter mode transformation. "Hold on!"

"Always coming to the rescue, that our pack leader for us!" Wolf two quickly finishes her target, ands moves to the two Vajra hot on Wolf-Three's tail. "I'm going to help out this time!"

"Wolf Team! A fold window in opening!"

Shigeru's eyes widen while the window opens in front of Wolf Three's path. "Damn it! A shuttle isn't scheduled to be this far out!"

Wolf-Three pulls past the fold window along with the first of two Vajra. The second one however isn't fortunate enough to dodge the shuttle. The craft pulls out of fold only for the nose of the shuttle's cockpit to collapse inward as it met the Vajra's thick carapace. The shuttle's fuselage nearly broke apart from the unexpected impact, and the Vajra itself was lodged in the warped metal of the shuttle's cockpit.

"Belgen! Help Hoshimura with the last one! This one is mine!"

Wolf One shifted the course to the Vajra trapped in the shuttle, and charged forward. The Vajra lifted its arm and went to smash the fuselage of the craft only for a mechanical hand of a Battroid to stop it. Shigeru could feel the pressure in the controls, it wasn't a smart move to engage Vajra in close quarters, but it was necessary for this encounter. The Vajra tried to move its body, but the shuttle had most of its upper body mangled. A shimmer from the Prophecy's combat knife illuminated the short distance between the two mecha. The Vajra let out a high pitched screech that echoed through the weapon and into the cockpit. Shigeru's eyes let out a faint glow as he plunged the knife into the creature's abdomen, as it slowly went lifeless. _'This feeling...'_

Seconds later, the fourth and final Vajra is quickly dispatched by Wolf Two and Three. Wolf One hovers slowly in Battroid mode beside the fuselage of the shuttle. It was heavily damaged, and at least a pair of fatalities from the collapsed cockpit. The windows inside show a small flickering while with a simple switch to thermal camera's show the survivors inside.

"This is Illustria...Wolf...Team come in! What happened to the shuttle!"

Shigeru opened his visor, and activated the com. "This is Wolf-Leader the shuttle impacted a Large Type, it's dead in the water...we need a retrieval team. The cockpit is smashed and the shuttle is leaking oxygen. There are a handful of survivors counting ten."

Colonel Newtlet listened to Shigeru's voice, and then looked over at the holographic map in the center of the CIC. "Request acknowledged, stay with the shuttle, and we'll send a rescue team." She deactivated the com-link, and slammed her hand against the armrest. "Tell me why were we not alerted of a shuttle diverting to this area?"

Claire quickly typed, and brought up several logs on screen. "It's a private shuttle ma'am and due to the person on board it wasn't announced on commercial channels." Her eyes went wide at the passenger list. "Colonel, the VIP on the shuttle is..."

Newtlet glanced at the holographic window, and quickly her eyes narrowed. "Sheryl Nome, the pop idol...Galaxy won't like it if she died in that shuttle incident..."

Several hours later, the shuttle is pulled into the hanger of the Illustria with the Vajra corpse removed from the front of the craft. It was by luck that the airlock wasn't punctured completely or it would have sucked everyone of out. The survivors were all unconscious from the impact, and were quickly transferred to sick bay for observation and treatment. It was stunning to the crew that the passenger on the shuttle was the Galactic Fairy Sheryl Nome. It would seem by some twist of fate that the songstress found herself blindly waltzing into a warzone.

The sound of an electrocardiogram filled the medical bay where Sheryl lie under the sheets of a medical bed. She felt weak while she could feel bandages wrapped around her forehead. Her piercing blue eyes quickly looked around at the blurry medical bay, and quickly focused on the doctor looking down at her.

"Where am I?" Sheryl weakly spoke, while trying to focus her eyes on the doctor's obscured features.

"You are on the NUNS Warship Illustria, you were in a shuttle accident."

Sheryl's eyes went wide with the memory of the situation replaying in her mind. "I can't remember anything...the shuttle shook, and I lost consciousness...a shuttle accident?"

The doctor let out a small nod, and looked over at a woman wearing a business suit with a few bandages on her face. "Yes, a shuttle accident, luckily you only have a mild concussion."

Grace pushed up her glasses, and smiled at Sheryl. "I'm glad that it's just a mild concussion. Your hard head saved you from something for a change."

Sheryl turned her face away from Grace, and let out a pout. "I'm not in a mood to be made fun of."

Grace turned to the doctor, and smiled. "Thank you for rescuing us, but your uniform is different from standard military forces."

The doctor looked at her black and gold variant uniform, and let out a small nod. "I'm not at liberty to tell you the specifics, but you are onboard a warship. You accidentally folded into a combat operation against rogue Zentradi, and now you are here."

Grace feigned another smile, and looked over at the shocked Sheryl. "I see..." She turned her eyes away from the doctor, and activated her implant. _'Static...they have a jammer in place to prevent me from accessing my network...this isn't good."_

The doctor moved to the intercom and pressed it. "This is sick bay, can you get me the Colonel please our VIP has regained consciousness..."

In the mess hall, Shigeru walked quietly with tray in hand and moved over to the usual table near the middle. At the table his wingmen were already waiting for him to arrive.

"You look completely rested Shigeru, how do you do it?" First Lieutenant, Hilda Belgen a woman in her early twenties with a playful yet shaggy head of blonde hair, and piercing royal blue eyes takes a sip from her cup of coffee.

Shigeru placed his tray down at the empty spot, and pulled the chair to take a seat. He grabbed hold of his cup of coffee, and took a sip. "I don't know...maybe it's because I'm used to it already... It was nice getting some rest after what we went through the past week."

Warrant Officer Yui Hoshimura, a lively girl of only seventeen years old with short cropped green hair, and a set of oddly matching jade green eyes lets out a loud yawn. "You're always so nonchalant about everything Captain, you guys really saved me today."

Shigeru lowered the cup of coffee, and nodded. "Yeah, and you're going to pay for that sluggish performance by spending the next few days training in the simulator. This is the big leagues Hoshi, it's not the academy anymore. Those YF-25s cost a whole lot more than what you make at your pay grade."

Yui lowered her head, and saluted. "Yes..."

"You don't need to be hard on her Shigeru, remember when you were a fledgling?" Hilda smiled while taking a bite from her French Toast.

Shigeru lowered his head thinking about his early days, and chuckled. "I guess so...but we really need to get you caught up to speed Hoshi. I need you to fill Miyuki's position as quickly as possible."

Hilda turned over, and let out a small nod. "Speaking of Miyuki, how is she doing with Colonel Focker?"

Shigeru shrugged his shoulders, and started to pour Tabasco sauce on his eggs. "I heard that she's doing well, but they're patrolling another area. I heard it's near the Galaxy."

Yui put down her fork, and leaned backwards. "Speaking of Galaxy, did you hear anything about the survivors? I heard that there is some super famous person on board"

Shigeru let out a small nod, and started to eat some of his breakfast. "I heard the Colonel was called over to the medical bay, but like everyone else we're in the dark about who is on that shuttle."

Hilda leaned forward and poked her finger at Shigeru. "What if it is some famous person, and we get well known for rescuing them from harm?"

Shigeru chuckled for a moment, and sighed. "That would be cool, but you remember at the debriefing the Colonel wanted us to keep it hushed about the.." He pauses and quickly holds his fingers making quote marks. "Victor-3."

Yui lowered her head again, and sighed. "This is such a drag, why do we get to hide in the shadows while privateers like SMS get to be in the limelight."

Shigeru smiled for a moment at Yui's words, and put his fork down. "Yeah, they also get paid way more than we do, but unlike them we're not dogs waiting for the next big score."

Hilda crossed her arms over her chest, and looked at the nearby news feed. "Hey look...I think we just found out who our guest was."

The trio turned to the galactic news feed, and focused on the reporter.

_This is GNN, we just received a report from the Earth Military concerning Galactic Fairy Sheryl Nome's shuttle that went missing twelve hours ago. The shuttle was attacked by rogue Zentradi, and was almost taken in hopes to extort galaxy into paying ransom for the famed idol. This plan however was foiled by the Independent Special Command's 728th Deep Space Reconnaissance Group, and currently the pop idol is onboard the Battle Class carrier Illustria, which was launched six months ago as part of the re-armament program that was highly securitized."_

_"When asked to give a statement, Admiral Alexia Ivanov simply stated..."_

_"Our reports are that the songstress is alive and well, and will make the deadline for her concert on Frontier."_

Shigeru looked at the image of Sheryl Nome and whistled at the stock image used of her from a previous concert. The outfit she wore was a little risqué, but he didn't mind it one bit with a grin forming on his face. "To think this girl is roughly eighteen years old?"

Hilda looked at the outfit, and then turned to catch Shigeru's wandering eyes. "Yeah, but I highly doubt you ever having a chance to meet a beautiful girl like her in your life. Even with the connections your family has."

Yui looked over with a confused look, "What connections? Are you related to space pirates? or a classic group like the Yakuza?"

Shigeru smacked his forehead at Yui's boneheaded speculation, and sighed. "You got to be kidding me..."

Hilda poured milk into her coffee and gave it a stir. "It's not as glorious, but you know that Kudo's middle initial is just his last name shortened right? The F stands for Falkheim, as in Falkheim Medical Technologies. If you're too dense to remember, they're one of the most recognized medical conglomerates in the galaxy."

Yui gasped loudly, and pointed her finger at Shigeru. "No, you're a young master of such a large conglomerate..."

Shigeru nodded slowly, and leaned back in the chair. "I guess there is only one way to show you and that is if we head to Frontier."

Hilda chuckled for a moment, and leaned forward elbowing Yui. "Prepare to be shocked young Hoshimura. Our captain is quite the popular guy on Frontier."

Yui blankly stared at Hilda and shook her head. "Popular because of being the heir of a fortune? Or..."

Shigeru lowered his head again, and sighed. "I'm going to head to the hanger first..." He got up from his chair, and pushed it in before turning his tray to the mess chief. "Remember we have patrol in thirty."

Hilda looked over at her captain, and then towards the slightly interested Yui. She leaned over, and whispered into Yui's ear.

Yui's eyes went wide, and gasped again. "Now that you mention it..."

Down the corridor, Shigeru made his way to the central elevator. It was a nice brisk walk, something that gave the young captain time to clear his head before a sortie, or a daily patrol run. Today seemed to be something of an exception, and he would run into someone that would change his own fate.

There were images of Sheryl all over the galactic network, with fan pages everywhere, and one had to be completely brain dead not to know who she was. There were fans from all walks of life that would give up anything for a chance to meet the fairy, and the only one that would find this chance was completely disinterested in the famed songstress from Galaxy.

"Ms. Nome you can't be wandering the halls alone..." A member of the security forces quietly walked up behind the exploratory songstress, and looked down the hall at the young captain of the Wolf Team.

Sheryl held her head up, and let out a loud groan. "I'm searching for inspiration, and that mind you is one the stipulations that the Colonel agreed to..."

The S.F. groaned loudly, and rubbed the back of his head. "The Colonel didn't allow you to go completely unescorted. Please Ms. Sheryl there's nothing here, you wanted to go to the observatory deck right? Let's go there."

Sheryl crossed her arms over her chest, and held her head high. "No, I want to see how your military people operate. I want to sing a song about something like this..." She opened her eyes slightly and spotted Shigeru walking towards the pair. "Who is..."

Shigeru lowered his head, and blankly looked down at the Fairy. He pulled on hand out of his pocket, and held up his hand for a simply hello. "Morning..."

Sheryl paused for a moment with Shigeru walking past both her and the S.F. She turned around quickly to see the S.F. salute Shigeru as he passed by.

"Captain Kudo."

"As ease sergeant, you look like you have your hands full."

Sheryl let out a small pout, and took in a deep breath before yelling. "Are you implying that I'm a troublemaker?"

Shigeru's brow quickly raised with him staring at the girl as if she were crazed. "Excuse me?"

Sheryl rushed over to him, and placed her hands against her hips while attempting to stare him down. "You know who I am right?"

Shigeru turned his head to the side, and yawned. "Yeah, you're Sheryl Nome, a big shot idol. Anyway I have a job to get to." He turned his back, and started to continue down the hallway.

Sheryl was fuming at his attitude, and stomped her feet while storming after him. "I'm talking to you! I'm not going to stop following you until you talk to me like a normal person."

Shigeru kept quiet for a majority of the hallway, and stopped at the elevator. He moved his hand to the center of his forehead, and sighed. "Listen, I don't have time to chat with you. I have important work to attend to..."

Sheryl scoffed, and leaned against the side of the wall. "Are all Zentrans like this? You're very rude you know!"

Shigeru turned to her wide eyed, and smiled for a second. "I'm a rude person? You're the first one to say that to me. I guess on Galaxy they teach the reverse on what not to say during conversations. You're being very childish for a guest that we saved from harm. Also for the record not all Zentrans are the same, and for my case I'm half."

Sheryl let out a devious smile, and held her hands out making an aperture. She focused on Shigeru's eyes, and smiled. "A half breed? I never met one up close before, you look different from most of the other Zentran men I've met on Galaxy..."

Shigeru looked at the S.F. motioning for him to step in, and pushed the elevator call button again. "Man Galaxy must be in the boonies, if you never have seen a hybrid. We're practically everywhere, and the exception with me is I'm half Meltran, not Zentran to be specific."

Sheryl's eyes went wide, and she gasped loudly. "You have a Zent...or I mean Meltrandi mother? Is that how you got those striking eyes?"

Shigeru rubbed his temple again, and narrowed his gaze at the slow elevator display. "What do you find amazing about my eyes, it's a genetic anomaly..."

Sheryl put her hands against her hips, and chuckled. "I thought Zentradi usually use genetic therapy to correct things like that. Is your vision different in each eye?"

The elevator doors slowly open up, and Shigeru turned to Sheryl with an annoyed look. "My vision is perfect..." His eyes move down to Sheryl's chest, causing her to look at him with a stern look.

Sheryl turned away from him, and looked over her shoulder with a playful look. "Oh my are you curious about me? I'm all natural, despite Galaxy being the Mecca for implants and body mods."

Shigeru sighed for a moment, and walked into the elevator. "I think we've had enough to talk about Ms. Sheryl. I need to report for duty."

Sheryl held up her hand and waved as the doors closed. "Bye-Bye, Captain Kudo." She smiled to herself for a moment, while reaching into her pocket to remove a pad of paper. "Now It's time to write some lyrics!"

Shigeru stood in the elevator with arms tucked into his jumpsuit pockets, and leaned against the wall staring at the ceiling. There was a small grin stretched on his face due to his choice encounter with the overbearing songstress. It was probably the first unorthodox conversation he's had with a woman that wasn't a member of his squad. It was a nice feeling, but would that girl even remember him once they arrive at Frontier. The thought of that didn't disturb Shigeru, but with the ship on course to rendezvous with Frontier the thought of talking with his family crossed his mind again.

Sheryl had spent hours exploring the ship with her escort, and eventually arrived at the observatory. It was a nice place filled with calm old era styled bar for the hard working crew of this warship. The lighting, and calming jazz music created an atmosphere that called out to the artist inside. She sat alone at a table writing down lyrics, and various other interesting things about the decor. With pen in hand, Sheryl looked more like a journalist than some idol who had already sold billions of records galaxy-wide. She hummed one of her songs and turned to the small cup of tea sitting next to a half eaten piece of toast. "I'm getting so much inspiration, but the food here is a little to be desired..."

"You'll have to deal with eating the food here for another day Sheryl..." Grace walked over from the nearby bar with a martini glass in hand, and took the empty seat across from Sheryl in the booth. She had been doing public relations work with Colonel Newtlet, as well as organizing a thank you event for the pilot that rescued the shuttle from the supposed Zentradi attack. Grace looked at Sheryl with a caring smile while trying to break the jammer afflicting her various implants. _'This is getting annoying, all these security measures are very complex. It's natural for a new ship to have more measures than necessary, but these are far too excessive.'_

"Oh, Hi grace...getting tipsy early again? What kind of manager are you if you're drunk around your client?" Sheryl turned back to the project she had been working on. Some were the lyrics for a new single, while the others were small doodles of various things that she saw around the ship.

Grace leaned back in the chair, and ran her finger around the rip of the glass. "This is non-alcoholic, and I could manage you being drunk or sober...what are you working on?"

Sheryl closed the pad of paper, and clicked her pen shut. "It's a s-e-c-r-et."

Grace sighed deeply, and quietly took a sip from her martini. "You're being childish again Sheryl...I'll let you be this once, but when we arrive on Frontier we'll have to work harder."

Meanwhile on the bridge, Newtlet stands overhead a holographic map of the area with hands resting on the sides. She had been waiting in the CIC for the past few hours wondering if the Vajra would attack again. She had most of the ships Valkyrie squadrons on alert, but due to orders from headquarters the hive from where the Vajra originated from was off-limits. The hive was somewhere nearby, but even with the exact location they couldn't attack.

"Any luck?" Admiral Erin Cross walked up behind the much younger Newtlet and glanced down at the area the ship was currently in. There were several areas covered with static, and others with ghost units patrolling ahead of the ship.

Newtlet shook her head, and sighed. "Nothing yet Captain..." She turned to the news feed being played on the nearby view monitor. "What about our guest? Does headquarters really want us to abandon our mission and drop her off at Frontier?"

Cross shrugged her shoulders, and walked past the holo-table while biting down on the tip of her Kiseru pipe. "Command was very explicit that we fold to Frontier as soon as possible. Ms. Nome's manager was very adamant in telling me that the concert date wasn't able to be rescheduled, and to say the least I'm looking forward to breathing actual air."

Newtlet chuckled, "Getting irritated that you're not able to smoke on duty?"

Cross turned over with a grin on her face. "One of many..." She glanced over to the bridge crew and cleared her throat. "I want a ship wide line open."

**"Attention all crew...the Illustria will be performing a fold to the Frontier Colony Fleet in twelve hours. We will be delivering our guest Sheryl Nome, and her entourage to Frontier ahead of schedule. I repeat a fold will commence in twelve hours, all hands are to report to your deck officer when preparations are complete."**

Cross put own the intercom, and walked back over to the tactical map placing her hands on the edge. "I can take care of this Newtlet, go ahead and get some sleep."

Newtlet had been running herself ragged since Sheryl arrived on the ship, and with the counter-Vajra operations she had barely gotten enough rest. She glanced over at the Admiral, and nodded slightly. "Thank you, ma'am. I'll leave this in your hands until then."

Cross chuckled, "Good night Newtlet...Just remember to set your clock to Frontier General Time." She turned to the com operator. "I want Wolf Leader to the ready room immediately."

Shigeru had been supervising simulations for the lesser skilled crew members, but mainly this was for Yui who had the least amount of combat experience. He looked over most of the data, the Illustria's crew was mostly from the best of what NUNS had to offer, but some green pilots managed to slip through the cracks. It was up to the senior staff that these pilots made it back safely, but also were modeled into the next generation of pilot.

In the interconnected waiting room, Yui stood hunched over with a towel on her shoulders. The training regiment was more strict than any she had encountered previously. She had managed to get through most of the objectives, and finished most of them despite the efforts of Shigeru raising the difficulty manually. "You deliberately raised the difficulty level didn't you?"

Shigeru grabbed two bottles from the nearby dispenser, and tossed one over to Yui. "I might have done a little, but you managed to make it through with little to no harm to your fighter." He twisted the top off his water, and took a small sip. "I'm impressed, you even learned a few tips that I usually see Hilda run."

Yui sat down on the nearby couch, and sighed. "She gave me a few pointers, but even those maneuvers were hard to handle."

Shigeru smiled for a moment, and started off towards the door. "Keep at it, we'll need you at your best. So go ahead and take the rest of the day off, and get some rest. Knowing you, you'll want to see Frontier and all its scenery when we arrive tomorrow."

Yui looked over with a smile on her face. "Thank you Captain! I can't wait for you to tell me all about Frontier!"

Shigeru looked out the window at the simulation units lining the interconnecting bay, a few of them were still conducting training tests with their combat feeds being displayed overhead on a series of monitors. "Frontier...how many years has it been since I left everything behind..."

**"Attention Wolf Leader, please report to the Captains' ready room. I repeat Wolf Leader report to the Captains' ready room."**

Shigeru turned to the intercom, and let out a small sigh. "What could it be this time?" He shook his head, and walked off towards the nearby exit.

Moments later, inside the captains' ready room, Cross sat behind a stack of report flipping through them while typing with her off hand on a nearby computer terminal. She sifts through the paperwork effortlessly due to the years of practice that earn her the rank of Admiral. She looked across the office to spot the other guest she had invited to this impromptu meeting. "You know you could sit down...Captain Kudo likes to take his time getting here."

Sheryl glanced over from the bookshelf of expensive books that were 'paper' replicas of old Earth classics. The care taken to make the books vintage sparked a latent hint of inspiration in the young songstress. "I'm fine, but I do admire your book collection. It seems that great care has been placed upon them."

Cross gave Sheryl a blank stare while signing the last document in the stack. "Thank you..." She turned away for a moment neatly stacking the files, and placing them on the opposite side of the desk. "Anyway, why do you have such an interest in Captain Kudo?"

Sheryl's cheeks flashed a hint of red, before she regained her composure at the direct question. "I um, what do you mean? I just want to thank the man who saved me from harm."

Cross's eyes narrowed and a smirk flashed across her face. "It seems that it's more than a simple thank you...I hear that you've been asking a lot about the Captain in the past few days..."

Sheryl could barely contain her embarrassment, and held her head up high. "I always like to gather information about those I owe a debt to. I asked you to call him here because I have an offer I would like to make to him."

The door let out a beep, and quickly Shigeru's voice filled the ready room. "Captain Shigeru F Kudo reporting as ordered ma'am."

Cross pushed the intercom and groaned. "Just come in already, you took your sweet time."

The doors opened up, and Shigeru walked in with hands lazily tucked into his flight suit pockets. He paused for a moment and glanced at Sheryl with eyes wide. "Um...why are you here?"

Sheryl's gaze narrowed while she pouted her lips at him. "Why am I here? You should be thankful to be in my presence!"

Cross held up her hands, "Behave you two, Ms. Nome would like to ask you something..." She grabbed her hat off the nearby rack, and placed it firmly on her head. "I'll give you two some privacy, but I don't want any funny business."

Shigeru leaned back slightly, and shook his head. "Who do you take me for Cross?" He glanced at Sheryl, and lazily glanced into her eyes. "So what did you want to ask me?"

Sheryl was at a loss for words for a moment, but quickly turned away grabbing the first thing off the shelf. She skimmed through the first few pages, and let out a small sigh. "I want to adequately thank you for saving my staff, and I from harm. I'm going to treat you to a night you'll never forget. You'll be my escort for the day once we arrive on Frontier!"

Shigeru rubbed the back of his head, and chuckled. "You're quite a forceful woman...and why should I be your escort for a day? Surely an idol like you could get anyone to escort you. Probably a famous celebrity."

Sheryl slammed the book shut, and groaned. "I don't want to do anything like that, and also this wasn't my decision. My manager Grace put up the idea, and I okayed it. That's that...I'll send word shortly after we arrive. So keep your schedule open..." She replaced the book back onto the shelf, and walked to the doorway.

Shigeru stood paralyzed for a moment, and looked at the exiting songstress wide eyed as she passed through the exit. He was wrapped in confusion for a moment until spotting the grin covered face of Cross re-entering her office. "Cross, why do I get a hint that you're plotting something?"

Cross rolled her eyes, and passed by Shigeru moving towards her desk. "I only passed on an idea to Ms. O'Connor and it seems that both Sheryl and her agreed on that." She kept the smug look on her face while keeping her back facing Shigeru. "Also, I think it would be a perfect headline, wayward son returns with Songstress as an escort. That's headline news right?"

Shigeru slowly placed his hand against his face sighing deeply. "You've been chatting with my mother again have you?"

Cross shrugged her shoulders, and took her seat. "That information is above your pay grade Captain. Now don't you have simulations you need to run with the rest of the Valkyrie teams? I believe that blue and yellow teams need your expertise during their training session."

Shigeru groaned loudly, and pulled his hand out of his pockets, and stood at attention. He pulled up his hand and saluted the Admiral. "Very well Admiral, I will return to duty. Excuse me." He turned to the doorway and slowly walked out with a grin on his face. "It looks like I'm in for an interesting period of days."


	2. Chapter 2

File # 2 "The Six Year homecoming"

Island One - Frontier

The sunlight shimmers down on the rooftops of Mihoshi Academy where a group of students casually celebrate a birthday. A loud series of pops fill the rooftops with streamers flying in several directions around the group. At the center of this celebration was Reimi F. Wilder a bespectacled beauty with passionate eagle shaped crimson eyes, and regal long silvery white hair running alongside her back with her fringe falling short of her glasses. A bright smile appeared on her face while watching her close friends wish her a happy birthday. "You guys always make me laugh so much, who thought of this little party during our lunch hour?"

Klan Klang, a diminutive girl with her hair styled in a set of twin tails lets out a small giggle while looking over at the group of boys sitting on the makeshift picnic blanket. "Well, it couldn't be Michael because he's too insensitive to throw something like this."

Michael Blanc pushed his glasses up, and let out a loud groan. "What makes you think that you little squirt? I can plan just about anything!?"

Reimi chuckled at the antics of Michael and Klan as they both start to chase each other on the rooftop. She turned over to spot Alto sipping quietly from a plastic cup. "Alto, do you know who planned this?"

Alto shrugged his shoulders, and let out a faint smile. "I think I have an idea who did, but I'd rather let them tell you all about it." He glanced towards the rather shy looking Luca Angeloni.

Reimi turned over with a smile on her face and quickly her eyes met with Luca's. "Oh, so it was you Luca, I should have known..." She blushes slightly while shyly turning away from him.

Luca nearly choked on his drink, and quickly sat upright at Reimi's smile. He slammed his hand into his chest for a moment, and gasped out for a breath of air. "Alto...I told you that we should have kept it a secret..." He poked his fingers embarrassingly together, and tries to avoid eye contact with Reimi.

Alto scoffed, "Why should I? It was obvious."

"Please don't be embarrassed Luca-kun, that was very nice of you to plan this out for Reimi." Ranka smiled while pouring Luca another cup of juice, and nodded at Reimi.

Luca still had his head held low trying to hide his shame, while being called out by everyone including Ranka. "Ranka-chan, not you as well!"

Reimi started to laugh for a moment, and quickly paused turning over to Ranka. "Say...Ranka did you figure out what you're going to wear for Sheryl's concert?"

Ranka turned to her side, and shook her head. "No, I haven't thought about it yet..."

Reimi grabbed hold of Ranka's hand, and grinned. "Well, let's go shopping. I saw a few stores filled with so many cute clothes! We should go try them after school today."

Alto shook his head, and got up to his feet. "Here we go again..." He tucked his hands into his pockets, and slowly walked over to Klan and Michael yelling at one another.

Luca sat quietly looking at both Reimi and Ranka talk to one another. "I'll go and help Alto..."

Just as Luca got up to his feet Reimi turned over and beamed a smile at him. "Luca, thank you for the party, and thank you for getting me a ticket for the concert."

Luca rubbed the back of his head, and chuckled. "It...it was no big deal, we had extras, and..." He quickly changed the subject, and darted off after the trio running in the distance. "Hey don't run on the rooftop you guys!"

Ranka looked off at the group, and smiled to herself. "Say, Reimi have you heard from Shigeru? It's been so long since we last saw him..." She put her finger against her lip, and counted in her head. "We were in middle school when he left the colony right?"

Reimi nodded a few times, and reached into her purse removing a bundle of letters from within. "Shigeru always finds time to send letters to my mom and I. He's doing classified work in the military, and can't send mail digitally." She looked at the crisp paper and pulled out the most recent. "I forgot to mention, this arrived last week, and guess what he asked about you?"

Ranka gasped aloud, "Really?" Her voice stuttered, "But...but why would he?"

Reimi shrugged her shoulders, "You always played at my house back then, and Shigeru was kind of like a surrogate brother to you. He asked if you were doing well, and I told him a few things about your aspiration to become a singer."

Ranka blushed for a second, and grabbed hold of Reimi by the shoulders. "Why would you go ahead and tell him that? Now I'm embarrassed..."

Reimi chuckled, "Hey, why don't you try out for the Miss Macross Competition coming up next month? That would be a big boost for you Ranka-chan!"

Ranka lessened her grip and let her arms fall down. She looks up with a set of watery eyes, and a pout stretched on her face. "I'm not that good to be in that contest..."

The school bell began to ring, with most of the group turning towards the half packed lunch-party. Reimi started to quickly put together the trash, and shook her head. "Don't put yourself down Ranka, if you don't try you won't know if you'll succeed. Now go ahead and get to class, I'll clean up here."

Ranka got up to her feet, and picked up her school bag. "Are you sure? Won't you be late to class?"

Reimi shook her head, and glanced down at her watch. "I'm the assistant librarian for this hour, so don't worry about me." She turned over to the group still fooling around at the other end of the rooftop. "You guys, you should get to class or you'll be scolded."

Alto was the first to rush over to the picnic area, and despite Ranka jogging down the stairwell to head to afternoon classes he stayed behind to help Reimi clean. "I can't let you clean this up all by yourself."

Michael walked up with Klan tugging forcibly on his arm. "Oh, looks like the Princess fell in love with another princess."

Klan pinched Michael, and scowled at him. "Enough of our teasing, we need to go or we'll be late again." She paused for a moment and looked shyly at Reimi. "Also, Reimi are you going to be able to help me study for the physics test?"

Alto shot Michael a dirty look with Reimi watching with the same angelic smile on her face. "You two are too much for me...I'll try to keep up with my tutoring duties, but that will be after I finish my student council duties."

With that said, the only ones left on the rooftop was Alto, Reimi, and Luca. Luca had been sitting and watching the two clean up with a pout displayed on his face. Luca was one of the advanced students at the academy, and due to this had a lesser class load than most of the others. This enabled him to work more on his club work, and spend time with Reimi in the library. Luca looked down at the small box shaped bulge in his pocket, and reached inside pulling out a small jewelry box. "Will I be able to give this to her..." He took in a few deep breaths, and sighed. "I guess not."

Alto quickly wrapped up the garbage, and tossed it into the nearby garbage cute. He dusted off his hands, and walked over to grab his bag from the pile. "Say...Reimi I have something to ask you."

"Yes?" Reimi turned her attention to Alto

Alto looked at Luca walking over, and quickly shook his head. "Never mind, I'm going to hurry to class."

Reimi gave him a concerned look, and waved goodbye. "I'll see you later Alto-kun." She closed her eyes, and smiled at the sound of Luca's approaching footsteps.

Luca reached down grabbing hold of his bag, and took one step towards the exit.

"Luca, are you hiding something for me?" Reimi's fox like smile pierced into Luca causing him to turn away.

Luca reached into his pocket, and shook his head. "No...no I don't have."

Reimi got up to her feet, and slowly walked to Luca. She was easily several heads taller than Luca making the two seem like high school to middle school students. "You are a horrible liar Luca." She looked down at his pocket, "My my you're like a little kid at times."

Luca pulled out the small box, and held it out to her. "You're always a hard one to get a gift for so I thought this would suit you."

Reimi grabbed hold of the box, and slowly opened it. Inside was a silvery pendant in the shape of a star with small crystals shimmering alongside, and in the core. Her cheeks turn a hint of red at the present, and slowly turns her head away. "This is the one I was looking at last week. How did you know to get this?" She paused for a moment noticing that her shopping partner last week was the one and only Klan. "Klan told you to get this for me didn't she?"

Luca rubbed the back of his head, and scratched his cheek. "I um...maybe she told me, but do you like it?"

Reimi handed the box over to Luca, and moved her hair away from her neck. "Can you put it on for me?"

Luca whined aloud, "I can't do that, it's too embarrassing..."

**Frontier Central Defense Headquarters, Presidential Offices**

Frontier President Howard Glass, an elderly man in his fifties watches the afternoon sun shimmer alongside the cityscape while smoking a fine cigar imported from Earth. He quickly puffed out some smoke, and turned over to the folder marked classified that was recently set down by the Chief of Staff. "What is this about Mishima?" He picked up the folder and started to flip through the pages.

Across the room seated on a small sofa, Leon Mishima a man in his late twenties with a bowl cut, angular features, and a set of sinister eyes stands up. "This is the information that was sent to us concerning the Illustria that is set to arrive sometime today. The Earth Government has been doing cleanup work, and this is the real report of what happened to Ms. Nome's shuttle is in that file. The Independent Special Command has gone from quelling anti-government forces to them..."

President Glass flipped the page, and the cigar fell out of his lips only for it to be quickly caught by his off hand. A small amount of ash fell to the floor burning the carpet underneath the desk. "This can't be, they're not supposed to be this far out. Is the fleet in danger of an attack?"

Leon walked over to the desk with arms resting behind his back. "Earth Command has given us instructions, and are taking precautions with Frontier, and Galaxy. Both colonies pathways crossed into what they call the "Red-Zone" over a week ago, and the reason why we haven't run into any of the Vajra is because of the aptly named 728th Deep Space Reconnaissance Squadron's actions. It has been asked of us to attach the 728th Recon Squadron to Frontier Garrison as a vanguard unit in the case of an attack. That is however up to you Mr. President. "

President Glass continued to flip through the detailed report, and placed the cigar back into his mouth. "I would be a fool to decline an offer from the Earth Branch, but I want this to be handled carefully."

Leon bowed, and let out a small grin. "Trust me Mr. President I've made sure that the media will not find out the real reason of the Illustria. After-all that ship is carrying an important idol, but I'll place measures to ensure that the media stays focused on Ms. Nome."

President Glass nodded, and placed the folder down. "Contact Birla, I want SMS to be in the information loop as well Mishima."

Leon reached into his jacket pocket, and nodded. "I already made sure to contact Mr. Birla about SMS's contact with Frontier. He will speak to you whenever you seek the need to utilize his forces." He paused for a moment, and cleared his throat. "Also, the Illustria should be arriving within the hour and will most likely dock underneath Island One."

**Several hours later **

The glowing array of lights of Fold Space vanished, as the ship pulled Folded-In to the Frontier Colony's airspace. The Illustria's flashing signal lights illuminate the area as the fold window collapses behind it. The large two thousand meter long carrier pulled forward with its' escorts returning to the ship one by one.

Within the Command tower, the bridge crews were working harder than ever. Unlike operating out in deep space, there were always several hassles with working with colony defense fleets. The communications, and traffic control were always updating leaving the communication officers with their hands full while transmitting information from the Illustria to Battle Twenty-Five.

Claire softly speaks into her headset while the ship makes its way towards the bright colony floating in the distance. "This is 728th Deep Space Reconnaissance Carrier Illustria to Frontier Control come in Frontier Control."

There was a small amount of silence on the radio followed by a crackle, followed by a voice. "This is Battle Twenty-Five to Illustria, we hear you loud and clear. Please move to the coordinates we're transmitting and await docking instructions."

Claire let out a relieved sigh, and looked at the coordinates. "Sending the coordinates to the helm, please alter course to a docking approaching to the aft port of Island One." She lowered her headset, and exhaled softly. "This is such a hassle, I'm so used to being out in deep space."

Cross glanced over with a smile, and chuckled. "Please inform Ms. Nome and her entourage that we'll be docking soon." She paused tapping her Kiseru pipe on the armrest of the chair. "Helm bring us into the dock nice and slow."

The helmsmen turns around and quickly plots the course correction. "Yes, Captain approving docking vector."

The Illustria slowly moved above the rear facing Island blocks with its massive silhouette moving over the 'sky' for the colonists to view the Battle Class Carrier passing overhead. The large vessel despite its size was rather nimble turning to a backwards docking approach. The massive engine block slowly dimmed as the vessel slowly pulled into the harbor. The Frontier automated docking system slowly took control of the ship moving it safely into the docking cradle. The ship slowly came to a full stop and slowly a series of docking clamps attach themselves to the hull of the Illustria while docking corridors slowly move to the main access airlocks across the ship.

The docking procedure took almost half an hour to accomplish, but soon after the ship was completely docked, and now the wayward songstress would be able to start preparations for her concert. Shigeru walked slowly down the corridor wearing his dress uniform, and several times tugged on his tie and collar. It was somewhat discomforting due to most pilots were allowed to wear their jump suits while on duty. However due to the circumstances, all crew that were to disembark the ship were obligated to wear their dress uniform or if allowed to wear civilian attire. The young captain walked several meters down the corridor and turned the corner to see Grace O'Connor leaning against the doorway while a security forces officer stood a distance away.

"Oh, Captain Kudo, I don't believe we've met face to face before." Grace smiled for a moment before pushing off the wall, and extending her hand out. "I'm Grace O'Connor, I'm Sheryl's manager."

Shigeru looked at the friendly smile from Grace, but for some reason his body felt strange around this woman. Her eyes were piercing into his, a stare that made this veteran pilot's stomach turn. He extended his hand, and quickly shook Grace's slender hand. "It's a pleasure, I was told to escort Sheryl to the civilian dock, and turn you over to a Second Lieutenant Catherine Glass when we reach the harbor."

Grace looked at the security officer, and then back to Shigeru, "I see..." She paused, "I'm glad that you accepted Sheryl's proposal that girl doesn't really meet people as unique as herself."

Shigeru nodded, "Thank you for the compliment, but where is she?"

Grace sighed deeply, and looked at the doorway leading into the room allocated to Sheryl. "She has been in there for about an hour...I think when she heard you'd be escorting us to the upper level."

Shigeru turned away for a moment, and then took another hard stare at Grace. "Pardon me for saying this, but you look very familiar...have I met you somewhere before?"

Grace's eyes narrowed for a moment while listening carefully to Shigeru's words. She quietly shook her head, and laughed. "This is the first time I've met you face to face, you're probably confusing me with another woman." She smiled, "I'm flattered, but I think I would remember meeting you before."

Shigeru crossed his arms over his chest, and nodded. "Sorry about that..." He crossed over to the doorway, and pushed the paging button. "Hey songstress, we're waiting out here for you. If you don't come out in the next few minutes I'll pull you out clothed or not..."

The door quickly opened up showing an embarrassed Sheryl with eyes narrowed akin to a viper ready for a venomous strike. "Why did you volunteer to escort us? I would rather it be someone else."

Shigeru sighed deeply, and held his hands up in protest. "What do you mean by that? I was ordered to do this. I can't ignore an order from the captain." He looked down at her, and turned his head away.

Sheryl leaned forward trying to get a deeper look into Shigeru's eyes. "Aren't you going to compliment me?"

Grace shook her head, and patted Shigeru on the shoulder. "Let's go, I want to get to the hotel as soon as possible."

The group walked down the corridor turning several times on their way to the main airlock. The other members of the entourage were already lead out to the hotel hours ago, but now all that was left was making sure the VIP was escorted safely. Shigeru walked in the front with the security officer to the airlock's exit. "This area is low gravity, so be weary of your skirts." He said, before kicking off down the low gravity tunnel towards the harbor entrance.

Grace smirked for a moment, and followed after Shigeru with one hand holding down her skirt.

Sheryl on the other hand was wearing a summer skirt with her purse in hand. She looked down at her dress, and then back at the security officer walking back into the ship. The airlock closed giving some sense of security back to Sheryl, as she took in a deep breath, and kicked off after both Grace and Shigeru.

"So I overheard from the Admiral that you're from this colony." Grace looked over at Shigeru as they continued to float towards the other side.

Shigeru shrugged his shoulders, and tucked his hands into his pockets while he casually readjusts to slight increase in gravity. His shoes tap against the ground while looking over his shoulder. "I'm from here, but it's been close to six years since I left this place. This is why I volunteered, I have to do a few things after I drop you guys in the hands of Lieutenant Glass."

Grace smiled for a moment, as the jamming effects from the Illustria were no longer hampering her implants. "I see...do you have any family here?"

Sheryl groaned, "Why are you asking useless questions Grace, we should just let him lead us to the other person."

Grace turned around, and shook her head. "I'm asking because you're too shy to ask him yourself."

Shigeru looked over his shoulder at Sheryl causing her to quickly turn the second their eyes met. "I see..." He turned to the airlock leading out to the terminal, and sighed. "I have a mother, and a few sisters living on Frontier."

Sheryl gathered up her courage, and spoke softly. "What about your father? Don't you have one?"

Shigeru shook his head, and before he knew it his hand had tensed up into a fist. "I never knew my father. I've been raised by my mother for most of my life." He reached out, and opened the airlock.

Sheryl lowered her head, "I'm..."

"Don't worry about it, I never met him nor do I even have the need to find out who he was."

Shigeru was the first to step out into the civilian dock to a blinding array of flashing from a group of paparazzi. Their cameras were clicking rapidly getting a few pictures of Shigeru in uniform, but quickly they all turned to Sheryl walking up slowly behind. The reporters shouted out plenty of questions only for the pair to ignore them completely. Shigeru stared at them wide eyed while the cameras continued to flash.

"You don't seem one bit annoyed with the press being here in full force Captain." Catherine Glass walked towards the group with suitcase in hand. She pulled up her hand and saluted Shigeru. "Second Lieutenant Catherine Glass, here to relieve you of your escort."

Shigeru saluted weakly, and sighed. "Being in the ISC tends to make you ignore things like this." He paused, "Also, no need to be formal around me Lieutenant Glass. "

Catherine lowered her salute and carefully turned her attention to both Grace and Sheryl. "Welcome to Frontier, I hope the accommodations onboard the Illustria were comfortable. Shall I bring you to the hotel? I will be the public relations officer assigned to you for the duration of your stay here."

Grace nodded, taking a seconds glance at Shigeru walking off towards the harbor's train depot. "The accommodations were sufficient, it's just were still a little tired from the ordeal. Has the security detachment arrived?"

Catherine nodded, "Yes, a Mr. Brera Sterne arrived a few days ago, and is currently waiting for us in the lobby." She held her hand towards the lobby. "Shall we?"

Sheryl held her head up ignoring Catherine, and walked rather arrogantly through the crowd with the military police holding the paparazzi back. "Let's hurry to the hotel. I want to start work on the concert program immediately."

Catherine's eyes narrowed at Sheryl's attitude, and cursed under her breath while feigning a smile. "Sure, we'll get you there as soon as possible."

Meanwhile, Shigeru walked into the back of the mildly packed train and grabbed hold of one of the railings in the center of the cab. He held up his off-hand and checked his watch. It was already well into the afternoon hours and his arrival would most likely made his family shocked. _'I wonder how shocked Reimi be when I come back.' _He thought, while the train pulled into the bright afternoon ambiance of the colony. It resembled pre-war Earth with several iconic old world cities combined into one decorating the horizon.

Shigeru took a deep breath and this time the air didn't have a stale taste to it. The air was fresh making an illusion that the colonists were on an actual planet instead of a colony ship moving towards a new home somewhere in the galaxy. The train continued to move through the city passing by the business and government district. Off into the distance he could see the building belonging to the Falkheim Medical group, and behind it the much larger SMS building. One glance at the logo made Shigeru scoff. He never did like SMS, but it wasn't due to their ideals, but something on a more personal level. He turned his gaze away from it, and took notice at a small boy holding the hand of his much younger sister. _'I wonder how much everything has changed here...'_ He paused for a second and shook his head. _'Or rather how much have I changed...' _

The train slowly pulled towards the famous Kanazawa station replica, the mixture of traditional Japanese architecture around the large glass covered dome shimmered in the midday sun. It was ironic that Shigeru arrived at the same station he left from all that time ago. There was an eerie feeling about stepping off the train, and onto the station. The people may have changed, but the station itself was the still the same as he remembered. Shigeru stood around momentarily taking a moment for his nostalgia to subside. "I can't waste any more time..." He smiled for a second, and glanced down at his watch before continuing on his way to the exit.

A row of taxis eagerly awaited the new arrivals with people of all walks of life coming and going from this main station to the civilian port. Shigeru casually walked through the crowds, and judging by the look on his face he was barely able to contain his excitement. He had spent so much time focusing on his duties as a combat pilot that he neglected the simple things that everyone around him seemed to take for granted. The crisp air, the sound of people talking, and the feeling of an actually atmosphere blasting against his skin.

"Where ya going soldier boy?" A cab driver pushed down his oversized aviator sunglasses, and stared down at the officer walking slowly towards the cab row. He folded up his newspaper, and moved over to open the door for his new fare for the day.

Shigeru glanced over to the cabbie, and removed his uniform cap off his head. "Falkheim Tower, I have a meeting to tend to."

The cab driver whistled, "Ooh fancy...anyway hop inside I'll get you there in a jiff."

Shigeru climbed into the back seat of the rather nice taxi, and rested on the soft seat. It was comfortable, very different from his bunk on the Illustria or any of the slightly better, but not great seating in the observatory lounge.

The cabbie closed the door and quickly rushed over to the drivers' seat. The engine came to life, and while rotating the rear-view mirror the cabbie glanced at his fare. "So, I never saw a guy with a uniform like that here on Frontier. You're obviously not from here, you arrive on that ship that came this morning?" The cab started to pull out into the busy streets of Frontier.

Shigeru opened his eye slightly, and nodded. "You could say that..."

"So did ya see her? That Sheryl Girl was rescued by you guys right?"

Shigeru sat upright, and leaned forward slightly. It seems that news flowed like water on Frontier, it would still take some getting used to. "Yeah, seems that we got her out of trouble in the nick of time. She's a pretty girl, glad we rescued her."

"I'll tell you that, so what's your story buddy?"

Shigeru crossed his arms over his chest, "I would rather not say, but you could say that it's been a long time since I've been home."

"I see, so you seeing your folks or something? Why would you need to head to Falkheim Tower? A relative work there? A former fling?"

Shigeru shrugged his shoulders. "You could say it's something like that..."

Minutes seemed to pass in the back of the taxi, but soon enough the vehicle pulled into the lobby of the Falkheim Tower. The building was bustling with researchers, and other experts in the medical field. Shigeru felt frozen for a moment, but slowly climbed out of the taxi. He reached into his pocket, removing it his wallet and slipping a few folded bills to the cab driver.

"Thanks...I hope your reunion goes smoothly soldier."

Shigeru held up his hand waving the cab driver off while looking at the massive revolving doorway of the building. He adjusted the collar of his shirt, and tugged at the tie loosening it slightly. "I'm too nervous...why can I keep a cool head in a Valkyrie, but I can't keep my composure around that woman..." He let out a small sigh, and proceeded to walk towards the revolving doors.

The lobby was more like an art gallery than one would think to be the leading medical research laboratory in the galaxy. There were people in business attire, lab coats, and even casual attire wandering about sipping coffee. Shigeru felt slightly out of place in this lobby with few eyes looking over at him. It wasn't common the military personnel to come to the Falkheim, but no-one wearing the ISC uniform had ever some this far into the building.

In the middle of the lobby, Eridase Falkheim Wilder stood with her arms crossed over her chest while a few suited bodyguards surrounded her. Her lengthy silvery white hair was pulled back into a bun while her hawk-like crimson eyes casually pan around the lobby. She appeared to be wrapped in a heated phone call with her agitated voice echoing in the lobby. She let out a loud groan before ending the call and shoving the phone into her purse. "The nerve of some people..." Her tone slowly faded at the sight of Shigeru standing in-front of the doorway. Her eyes went wide causing her mouth to drop almost instantly. "It can't be..."

Shigeru tucked his hands into his pocket , and grinned. "It's been a long time hasn't it Doctor Wilder."

Eridase quickly pushed past one of her bodyguards, and stormed across the lobby with her heels tapping furiously on the marble floor.

Shigeru took a step back slightly, and took in a deep breath. _'Here is comes...' _ He braced himself for a smack across the face, but slowly his eyes went wide at her arms wrapping around and embracing him. "Doc..."

Eridase shook her head for a moment and pulled back. "I told you to call me mom has the last six years rotted your brain?" She straightened out her jacket, and smiled at her eldest. "I seemed to have been misinformed of your arrival. My old contact told me that your ship would be arriving a week from today. Is it really because of that songstress that the military decided to hasten your deployment here?"

Shigeru rolled his eyes for a moment, and shrugged his shoulders. Even though it was his mother who probably already knew the standard procedure he would simply have to feign ignorance, or face something akin to that of an interrogation. "You could say that, but it was pilot error and old navigational data that caused Ms. Nome's mishap. Nothing more..."

Eridase eyed her son for a moment and crossed her arms over her chest. "So are you attracted to this Sheryl Nome? I wonder if I should get her genetic data and see how compatible she is."

Shigeru lightly rubbed his temple at his mother's scientific way of thinking. "I'm not that interested in her...yet..." He managed to catch his tongue, but the last word slipped out causing the glint in Eridase's eyes to light up brighter than ever.

Eridase started to chuckle, and patted her son on the shoulder. "I'll spare you the embarrassment this time. Who was it the last time this happened?" She put her finger against her lips and started to contemplate. "It was before you had that argument with Jeffrey...what was her name, she was your cousin's older friend in school."

Shigeru turned his back to his mother, and spoke softly. "It was Raramia Rerenia..."

Eridase snapped her fingers, and nodded. "Yes, that girl seemed to be a perfect match for you. She was a striking beauty, but a little on the tomboyish side." She motioned around the chest for a second, and sighed. "She had an okay figure, but she was a little lacking in the chest, but her hips however mean that she is capable of birthing a lot of potential grandchildren."

Shigeru held out his hand with his face red with embarrassment. "Stop...stop, did you do this to all the girls I had a fling with?" He let out a small sigh, and thought to himself. _'Oh man...I'm glad that she has no access to the Illustria's crew roster or she'll find out about Belgen, and Hoshimura...' _

Eridase glanced over her shoulder at her bodyguards who despite being the best professionally were about to break out into laughter. "Let's go gentlemen..." She glanced over at Shigeru, and tugged on the sleeve of his blazer. "We have a party to attend...or did you forget about it?"

Shigeru tagged along with his mother for a second, and crossed his arms over his chest. "It crossed my mind, but I don't want to make Reimi get all emotional over my returning. After-all she'll have her friends there?" he paused for a moment, "Also I would like to avoid an incident with Jeffrey at all costs."

Eridase sighed, and looked back at Shigeru. "I see so you still haven't forgiven Jeffrey...don't worry he is busy with work, and can't show up." She turned ahead to the revolving doorway. "To lighten the mood, did you find what you wanted?"

Shigeru walked out of the building with Eridase, and her bodyguards. He looked at the starry sky, and tucked his hands back into his pockets. "To tell you the truth I haven't found what I really desire yet." He looked back at Eridase, "I just want to keep flying."

Eridase smiled, "You're so naive my little boy...even birds wings get tired after gliding too long." She noticed the bags forming on Shigeru's face, and sighed. "You look tired, do you want to stay in the suite until the party starts?" She looked down at her wrist watch, and slowly pulled her mobile out. "I won't accept no as an answer..." She paused turning her attention to the phone. "Hello, this is Dr. Eridase F. Wilder, I have a suite on reserve in my name. I'm going to be sending my son to collect the key."

Several hours quickly came to pass with Shigeru sitting quietly on the edge of the comfortable king sized bed. It had been so long since he had slept for more than two hours. The constant alerts, and patrols onboard the Illustria made it impossible for any of the pilots to get a decent amount of rest. It seems that Sheryl's incident was a godsend, enabling Shigeru to tie up his loose ends, and rest his weary soul.

Shigeru stood up, and walked over to his mobile phone resting on the nearby nightstand. He picked up the small device, and then picked up his wrist watch. _'The party should be starting soon...I seemed to have overslept...' _ He turned over to see his uniform folded neatly, and hanging from the open closet door. Beside the uniform was a tailored charcoal colored suit covered in a plastic dry cleaning shroud. It would seem that his mother had taken his measurements when they 'hugged' in the tower, and had this suit tailored for the birthday party below in the Hotel's banquet hall.

It didn't take long for Shigeru to get cleaned up in the hotel room, and make his way down to the banquet hall. The party seemed more like a professional event than a simple party. Shigeru looked at the various younger high school girls running about while several boys seemed to be mixed in. It would seem that Reimi was quite the popular girl at Mihoshi and that alone caused a minor amount of irritation in his brow.

Shigeru entered the banquet hall with a few eyes turning towards him from the other guests. He ignored them and continued in further walking towards the large table in the middle where he could see Reimi talking to a few of her friends. A familiar face stood beside Reimi making a smile flash on the uneasy brother's face. "To think you're sixteen now, how time flies you know?"

Reimi slowly turned at the sound, and her eyes lit up like jewels. A smile flashed on her face at the sight of Shigeru standing a few feet away from her. "Shigeru? It can't be...I thought you were busy with your work."

Shigeru scratched his cheek, and chuckled. "Work is work, but my sisters birthday takes precedence. Happy Birthday Reimi."

At the main table, Alto looked over with his face full of confusion. "Ranka, who is that?"

Ranka's face was also sharing a similar look to that of Reimi. She turned over to Alto with a smile on her face. "That's Reimi's older brother Shigeru."

Alto glanced back at Shigeru, and then over to Reimi. "They look nothing alike..." Alto paused for a moment at a small amount of pressure on his shoulder. He turned slowly to see Eridase's hand gripping his shoulder.

Eridase smiled at Alto while slowly releasing the pressure from her grip. "Alto Saotome, you have a sharp tongue it doesn't fit your pretty face."

Alto scowled for a moment before sighing deeply. "What's the story? I've never spoken to Reimi about her brother...I thought she didn't have any siblings beside her twin sisters."

Ranka lowered a cup of punch, and laughed. "Shigeru has always been what my brother calls a lone-wolf. I don't understand it because Shigeru is always friendly around us when we were little. He is Reimi's half brother so that is why they rarely look alike."

Alto nodded, "I see, well it's nice to see family members get along." He tightened his grip on the punch glass, and took a drink.

Eridase looked at Alto for a second, and bowed her head. "Shigeru had a troubling childhood, he had to deal with a lot of traveling earlier, and that didn't allow him to make proper friends. I'm afraid that's why he's somewhat indifferent around strangers. It takes while for Shigeru to open up, as noted now he's all smiles. It's just a shame he doesn't get along with Jeffrey..." She paused for a moment, and noticed a few of her clients across the banquet hall. She waved to them, and looked back at both Alto, and Ranka. "You two be safe, I know how you two love birds seem to gravitate towards one another."

"We're not dating..." Alto's face turned red, and turned quickly almost splashing the red punch on Ranka's dress. She quickly leaped out of the way and exhaled softly placing her hand against her chest. Alto looked over at Ranka, and then at his half empty punch glass. "Ranka...I'm sorry."

Ranka grabbed a napkin off the nearby table, and kneeled down to clean up the small mess. "Don't worry, Alto-kun I have it taken care of."

Shigeru had wished his little sister a happy birthday, and was introduced to a few of her closest friends with the exception of Ranka who he already was acquainted with. There was one thing on the back of his mind when looking at Ranka's escort. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he couldn't tell if it was a girl or a boy standing by her. Shigeru didn't want to embarrass Reimi by asking something about one of her guests, so he simply stayed silent.

His attention shifted from the long-haired Alto Saotome, over to the pair of beer cans being placed onto the table. Shigeru looked up at the smiling face of Raramia Rerenia. Her once long red hair was now cut into a pixie styled cut with her piercing blue eyes digging into his own. "I thought you could use a drink. It's been far too long hasn't it Shigeru?"

Shigeru reached over to one of the cans of beer, and popped the top. A small amount of foam escape around the rim of the can while he took a small swig. "It has hasn't it? You cut your hair..."

Raramia ran her hand through her short hair, and nodded while opening her beverage with relative ease. "You don't like my new haircut? I thought I would go with something short since my long hair used to get in my eyes all the time." She looked over at him with a devious look in her eyes. "Could it be that you still have a thing for me Mr. Wolf?"

Shigeru didn't want to admit it, but there was still an attraction to Raramia. He turned his head away, and noticed the twin-tailed devil Klan raising a ruckus off at the banquet table. "I don't know...I kind of have a thing for women with long hair...so how has Klan been doing since I left."

Raramia chuckled at Shigeru's tactful way of changing the subject. She felt somewhat put off by his words, but kept her composure. "You still have a way with words, Klan has been doing well. I've been keeping an eye on her like I promised I would."

Shigeru continued to drink his beer while looking at the party continue off in the distance. "That's good...Thanks for doing that." He looked over Eridase chatting with a few of her business associates, and then back at Raramia. "So, what are you doing for work now?"

Raramia stretched out her arms and yawned. "I'm working for Strategic Military Services..."

Shigeru nodded, "I see..." He gave the beer can a small shake, and proceeded to finish the remaining amount. "Are you working the support or combat division?"

Raramia reached down by her chair into a small plastic bag and ripped off another can of beer. "Here..." She tossed it over to Shigeru who quickly caught it. "I'm in the combat division, it's nothing too glorious. SMS uses the Pixie team as a reconnaissance team. We're a trio of Queadluun-Rhea."

Shigeru whistled, "That's an expensive model, SMS seems to give you guys the top tier equipment."

Raramia narrowed her eyes, and sipped at her drink. "I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. So what kind of stuff does the famed ISC do for the Earth Branch?"

Shigeru rubbed the back of his head, and smiled. "I can't go into specifics, but I've seen more combat than I thought I'd see in a peaceful time like this. Staying here on the colony, and seeing so many close friends makes me want to put it all away..."

Raramia chuckled, "The infamous lone-wolf of Mihoshi wants to settle down. You're not the type to do things like that."

Shigeru leaned back in the chair, and gave Raramia a smug look. "Well the perfect woman hasn't showed up yet."

Raramia shook her head, and pointed to the can of beer. "Shut up and drink."

After what seemed like several beers, Shigeru, and Raramia were chatting for what seemed like hours. The party went on around the pair of 'young adults' while they kept drinking and reminiscing about old times. There however was a brief period in between the drinks that Shigeru had to be present to see Reimi open her presents, and cut the oversize birthday cake. The party continued to dwindle through the night with Shigeru watching with Raramia beside him.

The DJ slowly changed the tempo of the party, and played a 'slow-dance' song. The dance floor was filled with several couples all moving in closer. Shigeru looked over at Raramia for a moment, and quickly felt a rumble in his right breast pocket. He was a little under the influence of alcohol, but managed to pull out the phone with some bit of grace. "This is Kudo..." Shigeru got up from the chair drawing Raramia's attention only for him to hold his hand out. The call was important, something that he couldn't put on hold. A serious look appeared on his face while saying a mixture of "Yes, Ma'am, and I understand Ma'am." It seemed that his superiors were ringing his neck over the phone, or something much more dire was underway.

Shigeru put the phone back into his pocket, and started to jog towards the exit to the Banquet hall. He started to undo his tie, and collar while moving away from Raramia.

"Hey, where are you going?" Raramia yelled from the table.

Shigeru looked over his shoulder, and yelled back. "I got recalled to the ship. It's nothing too intense! It seems that they can't let me go for more than half a day." He waved casually, and continued on his way out.

Reimi paused for a moment, and looked at Shigeru walking out with that 'serious' look in his face. "Where are you going? Did you get recalled so soon?"

Shigeru nodded, "I'm sorry Reimi, but I have to get back to the ship...you have a great night with your friends." He continued out of the banquet hall leaving Reimi standing and looking at him with a set of concerned eyes.

Outside the banquet hall, Jeffrey Wilder walked slowly towards the doors holding small present in hand. He looked at the doors slowly open, and Shigeru walking out. The two looked at one another for a second, and before Jeffrey could speak Shigeru started to run at a full sprint in the hallway towards the exit.

Shigeru cursed at himself for drinking so casually, his mind was still slightly muddled, and let his so-called greeting with his family go on longer than it should. It was his luck that the Vajra were detected, and now he would have to deploy despite his current predicament. He continued to run and quickly waved down a taxi once reaching the lobby.

On an upper catwalk of the same hotel, Grace O'Connor stood on the patio of their suite with the wind blowing through her hair. She looked up at the sky with a smile on her face. "It would seem that Frontier is trying to keep a secret from its populous." She looked over at Brera kneeling a few feet away from her. "We'll keep playing with their charade, but this better not interfere with the concert. We need to find the other as soon as possible."

Brera nodded before returning to his feet. "Yes, Ma'am."


End file.
